Method and apparatus for processing contact information using a wireless terminal

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for processing contact information, the method comprising: displaying a list of contacts on a display of a wireless terminal; determining a first contact from the list of contacts in response to a selection by a user; obtaining a web log address and an online shop address of the first contact; obtaining, from a network service, a first content corresponding to the web log address and the online shop address of the first contact; and displaying the first content on a first area of the display, the first content being dynamically updated.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/856,150, filed on Aug. 13, 2010, which claims priority to ChinesePatent Application No. 200910166470.4, filed on Aug. 19, 2009. Theaforementioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to communications technology, and inparticular embodiments, to a method and apparatus for processing contactinformation using a wireless terminal.

BACKGROUND

With richer web content, the network has become one of the main ways forpeople to obtain information and express themselves. For example, peoplemay write articles through a blog, upload and present photos in a webalbum, and update their personalized signature, feeling or image usingQQ and MSN. (Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is a popular freeinstant messaging computer program in China; MSN (originally theMicrosoft Network) is a collection of Internet sites and servicesprovided by Microsoft.) Using services such as these, friends can knowthe current living state of the users according to such web information.In addition, people may operate an online shop at Taobao.com to sellcommodities, so that other people may log in to the online shop to checkfor new commodities.

In the conventional art, when people want to know whether the QQsignature of a concerned contact is changed, they have to log in to QQ;when people want to check whether they receive an email from a concernedcontact, they have to log in to the email box.

During the implementation of the present invention, the inventor findsat least the following problems in the conventional art. When peoplewant to obtain information about concerned contacts, they have to usedifferent ways, for example, logging in to the QQ or email box. Thus,this operation process is complicated and not real-time. Thus, there isa need to solve the problem of how to obtain information about concernedcontacts easily and quickly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a wireless terminal and amethod for processing contact information performed by a wirelessterminal.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a wirelessterminal, including: a display; one or more processors; and a memorystoring programming for execution by the one or more processors, theprogramming including instructions for: displaying a list of contacts ona display of the wireless terminal; determining a first contact from thelist of contacts in response to a selection by a user; determining asecond contact from the list of contacts in response to anotherselection by the user; obtaining a web log address and an online shopaddress of the first contact; obtaining another web log address andanother online shop address of the second contact; obtaining, from anetwork service, a first content corresponding to the web log addressand the online shop address of the first contact; obtaining, from thenetwork service, a second content corresponding to the other web logaddress and the other online shop address of the second contact;displaying the first content on a first area of the display, the firstcontent being dynamically updated; and displaying the second content ona second area of the display, the second content being dynamicallyupdated, wherein the first area of the display is different from thesecond area of the display.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided amethod for processing contact information performed by a wirelessterminal, the method including: displaying a list of contacts on adisplay of the wireless terminal; determining a first contact from thelist of contacts in response to a selection by a user; obtaining a weblog address and an online shop address of the first contact; obtaining,from a network service, a first content corresponding to the web logaddress and the online shop address of the first contact; and displayingthe first content on a first area of the display, the first contentbeing dynamically updated.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided awireless terminal, including: a display; one or more processors; and amemory storing programming for execution by the one or more processors,the programming including instructions for: displaying a list ofcontacts on a display of the wireless terminal; determining a firstcontact from the list of contacts in response to a selection by a user;obtaining a web log address and an online shop address of the firstcontact; obtaining, from a network service, a first contentcorresponding to the web log address and the online shop address of thefirst contact; and displaying the first content on a first area of thedisplay, the first content being dynamically updated.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing programming forexecution by one or more processors, the programming includinginstructions for: displaying a list of contacts on a display of thewireless terminal; determining a first contact from the list of contactsin response to a selection by a user; obtaining a web log address and anonline shop address of the first contact; obtaining, from a networkservice, a first content corresponding to the web log address and theonline shop address of the first contact; and displaying the firstcontent on a first area of the display, the first content beingdynamically updated.

In at least some embodiments of the present invention, the obtainedservice information may be displayed on an area of the display of thewireless terminal so that the user can easily and quickly read theinformation about the concerned contact on the display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for processing contact informationaccording an embodiment of to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the method for processing contact informationaccording to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a structure of a wireless terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 shows a structure of the wireless terminal according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter described in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings. It is evident that theembodiments are only exemplary embodiments of the present invention andthe present invention is not limited to such embodiments. Otherembodiments that those skilled in the art could obtain based on thedisclosed embodiments of the present invention also fall within theprotected scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for processing contact informationaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1,the method includes the following steps.

Step 101: Set a contact list on a display. For example, a wirelessterminal user may set the contact list on the display of the wirelessterminal according to actual needs, so that it is convenient to performrelated operations on the contacts in the contact list.

Step 102: Select a contact from the contact list. When the wirelessterminal user wants to bind one or more contacts to a specific area ofthe display on the wireless terminal, the wireless terminal user mayselect the contact from the contact list.

Step 103: Bind the selected contact to a specific area of the display.For example, the wireless terminal may bind the selected contact to thespecific area of the display on the wireless terminal, so that differentservice information corresponding to the contact may be displayed on thespecific area of the display. In this embodiment, the wireless terminalmay be a cell phone, and the contact is not limited to the informationsuch as the mobile communication number of the contact and may includeall information about the contact. In actual applications, the cellphone user may select a contact as a concerned contact, and then bindthe contact to the specific area of the display. In this way, allinformation about the contact is displayed on the specific area of thedisplay.

It should be noted that, this embodiment is not limited to the case thatonly one contact is bound to one specific area of the display. Accordingto actual needs, multiple contacts may also be bound to multiplespecific areas of the display on a one-to-one basis, or multiplecontacts may be bound to one specific area of the display. The size andarrangement of the specific area of the display may be determinedaccording to actual needs.

Step 104: Obtain service information corresponding to the selectedcontact, and display the service information on the specific area of thedisplay. After the wireless terminal binds the selected contact to thespecific area of the display, the wireless terminal may obtain serviceinformation corresponding to the contact. In this embodiment, a cellphone may be used to obtain and store the service information about thecontact stored on the cell phone. For example, the contact may be amobile communication number of the contact, and service informationabout the contact may be SMS information or MMS information. The cellphone may receive a piece of SMS information, and then compare or matchthe sender information carried in the SMS information (for example, themobile communication number of the sender) with the contact bound to thespecific area of the display. If the comparison or matching succeeds,the cell phone can know that the received SMS information is sent from aconcerned contact of the user. Thus, the cell phone can display the SMSinformation on the specific area of the display bound to the contact.

It is understood that the cell phone may also receive a piece of MMSinformation and display pictures or animations in the MMS information onthe bound specific area of the display. In another example, the contactmay be an MSN number. Thus, the cell phone may automatically search thebackground for dynamically updated information such as the personalizedsignature and image corresponding to the MSN number on a timed basis,for example, every half an hour.

By using the method provided in this embodiment, contact is set on thedisplay to form a contact list; contact is selected from the contactlist and bound to a specific area of a display, so that differentinformation about the contact can be displayed on the specific area ofthe display; the wireless terminal obtains service informationcorresponding to the contact, so that the user can obtain informationabout the concerned contact in time by using the wireless terminal; theobtained service information is displayed on the specific area of thedisplay, so that the user can easily and quickly read the informationabout the concerned contact on the specific area of the display on thewireless terminal.

In another embodiment of the method for processing contact information,the contact includes at least one contact. That is, at least one contactis bound to the specific area of the display. All the serviceinformation about the contacts bound to the contact may be displayed onthe specific area of the display.

In another embodiment of the method for processing contact information,the contact includes a mobile communication number of the contact and atleast one of an instant communication number, a web log address, anEmail address, and an online shop address corresponding to the mobilecommunication number of the contact.

When the contact includes the mobile communication number, the step ofobtaining service information corresponding to the contact anddisplaying the service information on the specific area of the displaymay include receiving a piece of SMS information or a piece of MMSinformation; matching the mobile terminal identifier of the sendercarried in the SMS information or the MMS information with the mobilecommunication number. The SMS information or the MMS information can bedisplayed on the specific area of the display if the matching succeeds.

When the contact includes the Email address of the contact, the step ofobtaining the service information corresponding to the contact anddisplaying the service information on the specific area of the displaymay include receiving a piece of Email information; matching the Emailidentifier of the sender carried in the Email information with the Emailaddress information. The Email information can be displayed on thespecific area of the display if the matching succeeds.

When the contact includes the instant communication number, the web logaddress, and the online shop address, the step of obtaining the serviceinformation corresponding to the contact and displaying the serviceinformation on the specific area of the display may include obtainingthe dynamically updated information corresponding to the instantcommunication number, the web log address, and the online shop address.The dynamically updated information can be displayed on the specificarea of the display.

Further, obtaining the dynamically updated information corresponding tothe instant communication number, the web log address, and the onlineshop address may include logging in to a website corresponding to theinstant communication number, the web log address, and the online shopaddress periodically. The dynamically updated information correspondingto the instant communication number, the web log address, and the onlineshop address can then be obtained.

The following describes the method for processing contact information indetail with reference to specific embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for processing contact informationaccording to another embodiment of the present invention. In thisembodiment, the wireless terminal may be a cell phone, and the contactmay be stored on the cell phone. As shown in FIG. 2, the method includesthe following steps:

Step 201: Store the contact on the cell phone. The contact is notlimited to the cell phone number and may include all the informationabout the contact. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the followingcontact is stored on the cell phone: Name: John Smith; mobilecommunication number: 1212xxx9458; web log address: www.xxxx.com; QQnumber: 43xxxx56; Email address: xxxx@sohu.com; online shop address:www.*****.com.

Step 202: Set a contact list on the display. The cell phone user may setthe contact of concerned contacts in the contact stored on the cellphone on the display of the cell phone to form a contact list. In thisway, when it is necessary to bind the contact to the specific area ofthe display, the contact may be easily and quickly selected.

Step 203: Select a contact from the contact list.

Step 204: Bind the selected contact to the specific area of the display.For example, the cell phone user may regard John Smith as a concernedcontact, and then bind the contact to the specific area of the display,so that all the information about the contact is displayed on thespecific area of the display, for example, whether the web log of JohnSmith is updated, whether short messages are received from John Smith,whether the QQ signature of John Smith is updated, or whether the imageof John Smith is updated.

Step 205: Receive a short message, judge whether the mobilecommunication number of the sender matches the mobile communicationnumber of the contact bound to the specific area of the display, anddisplay the short message on the specific area of the display if thematching succeeds.

When the cell phone receives a short message, the cell phone extractsthe mobile communication number of the sender sending the short message,and matches the mobile communication number of the sender with themobile communication number 1212xxx9458 of John Smith; if the matchingsucceeds, the cell phone can know that the short message is sent from aconcerned contact of the user, and then display the content of the shortmessage on the specific area of the display bound to John Smith.

In step 205, a multimedia message may also be received. When the cellphone receives a multimedia message, the cell phone matches the mobilecommunication number of the sender sending the multimedia message withthe mobile communication number of the contact bound to the specificarea of the display; if the matching succeeds, the cell phone can knowthat the multimedia message is sent from a concerned contact of theuser, and then display the content of the multimedia message such aspictures and animations on the specific area of the display bound toJohn Smith.

Step 206: Periodically log in to www.xxxx.com. If any updatedinformation is found, obtain the dynamically updated information, anddisplay the dynamically updated information on the specific area of thedisplay.

For example, the cell phone logs in to www.xxxx.com on the backgroundevery half an hour to know whether the Blog of John Smith is updated. Ifthe Blog is updated, the cell phone may obtain the dynamically updatedinformation, and display the dynamically updated information on thespecific area of the display bound to John Smith. Thus, the user mayobtain the updated Blog content of John Smith on the specific area ofthe display.

Step 207: Search for the dynamically updated information correspondingto the QQ number “43xxxx56” on a timed basis. If any updated informationis found, obtain the dynamically updated information, and display thedynamically updated information on the specific area of the display.

For example, the cell phone searches every half an hour the backgroundfor information about whether the QQ number is updated, for example,whether the personalized signature is updated, whether new logs or newphotos are updated on the QQ zone, and whether the QQ image is updated;if any updated information is found, the cell phone obtains thedynamically updated information, and displays the dynamically updatedinformation on the specific area of the display bound to John Smith.

Step 208: Receive an Email, judge whether the Email address of thesender matches the Email address of the contact bound to the specificarea of the display, and display the Email content on the specific areaof the display if the matching succeeds.

For example, the cell phone may extract the Email address of the sendersending the Email from the Email, and then match the Email address ofthe sender with the Email address xxxx@sohu.com of John Smith. If thematching succeeds, the cell phone may know that the Email is sent from aconcerned contact of the user, and then display the Email content on thespecific area of the display bound to John Smith.

Step 209: Periodically log in to www.*****.com. If any updatedinformation is found, obtain the dynamically updated information, anddisplay the dynamically updated information on the specific area of thedisplay. For example, the cell phone logs in to www.*****.com on thebackground every half an hour to check whether new commodities areavailable on the online shop, whether any discount information isavailable, or whether new comments are added. If any updated informationis found, the cell phone may obtain the dynamically updated information,and display the dynamically updated information on the specific area ofthe display bound to John Smith. Thus, the user may obtain the updatedinformation about the online shop of John Smith on the specific area ofthe display.

It should be noted that the preceding step 205 to step 209 may beexecuted in any sequence.

By using the method provided in this embodiment, the contact is set onthe display to form a contact list. A contact is selected from thecontact list and bound to the specific area of the display, so thatdifferent information about the contact can be displayed on the specificarea of the display. The wireless terminal actively obtains serviceinformation corresponding to the contact, so that the user can obtaininformation about the concerned contact in time by using the wirelessterminal, for example, whether a short message is received from thecontact, whether the Blog of the contact is updated, and whether newcommodities are available on the online shop of the contact. Theobtained service information is displayed on the specific area of thedisplay, so that the user can easily and quickly read the informationabout the concerned contact on the specific area of the display on thewireless terminal.

FIG. 3 shows a structure of a wireless terminal according to anembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the wirelessterminal includes a setting module 11, a selecting module 12, a bindingmodule 13, an obtaining module 14, and a displaying module 15. Thesetting module 11 is configured to set a contact list on a display. Theselecting module 12 is configured to select a contact from the contactlist set by the setting module 11. The binding module 13 is configuredto bind the contact selected by the selecting module 12 to the specificarea of the display. The obtaining module 14 is configured to obtainservice information corresponding to the selected contact bound to thebinding module 13. The displaying module 15 is configured to display theservice information obtained by the obtaining module 14 on the specificarea of the display.

The principle for implementing the wireless terminal provided in thisembodiment is the same as that for implementing the method forprocessing contact information shown in FIG. 1, and is not furtherdescribed.

By using the wireless terminal in this embodiment, the contact is set onthe display to form a contact list. A contact is selected from thecontact list and bound to a specific area of the display, so thatdifferent information about the contact can be displayed on the specificarea of the display. The obtaining module actively obtains the serviceinformation corresponding to the selected contact, so that the user canobtain information about the concerned contact in time by using thewireless terminal. The obtained service information is displayed on thespecific area of the display, so that the user can easily and quicklyread the information about the concerned contact on the specific area ofthe display by using the displaying module.

FIG. 4 shows a structure of the wireless terminal according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the wirelessterminal includes a setting module 11, a selecting module 12, a bindingmodule 13, an obtaining module 14, and a displaying module 15. Thesetting module 11 is configured to set a contact list on the display.The selecting module 12 is configured to select a contact from thecontact list set by the setting module 11. The binding module 13 isconfigured to bind the contact selected by the selecting module 12 tothe specific area of the display. The obtaining module 14 is configuredto obtain service information corresponding to the selected contactbound to the binding module 13. The displaying module 15 is configuredto display the service information obtained by the obtaining module 14on the specific area of the display.

Further, the wireless terminal provided in this embodiment includes astoring module 16 configured to store the contact, where the contactincludes a mobile communication number and at least one of an instantcommunication number, a web log address, an Email address, and an onlineshop address corresponding to the mobile communication number. Theobtaining module 14 may include a matching unit 141 and a login unit142. The matching unit 141 is configured to: match the wireless terminalidentifier of the sender carried in received SMS information or MMSinformation with the mobile communication number of the contact, andsend the SMS information or the MMS information to the displaying module15 if the matching succeeds, or match the Email identifier of the sendercarried in received Email information with the Email address, and sendthe Email information to the displaying module 15 if the matchingsucceeds. The login unit 142 is configured to log in to a websitecorresponding to the instant communication number, the web log address,and the online shop address periodically, obtain the dynamically updatedinformation corresponding to the instant communication number, web logaddress, and online shop address, and send the dynamically updatedinformation to the displaying module 15.

The principle for implementing the wireless terminal provided in thisembodiment is the same as that for implementing the method forprocessing contact information shown in FIG. 2, and is not furtherdescribed.

By using the wireless terminal provided in this embodiment, the contactstored in the storing module is set on the display to form a contactlist; a contact is selected from the contact list and bound to thespecific area of the display, so that different information about thecontact can be displayed on the specific area of the display by usingthe displaying module; the obtaining module actively obtains the serviceinformation corresponding to the contact, so that the user can obtaininformation about the concerned contact in time by using the wirelessterminal, for example, whether a short message is received from thecontact, whether the Blog of the contact is updated, and whether newcommodities are available on the online shop of the contact; theobtained service information is displayed on the specific area of thedisplay, so that the user can easily and quickly read the informationabout the concerned contact on the specific area of the display on thewireless terminal.

Although the present invention has been described through some exemplaryembodiments, the invention is not limited to such embodiments. It wouldbe apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modificationsand variations to the invention without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless terminal, comprising: a display; oneor more processors; and a memory storing programming for execution bythe one or more processors, the programming including instructions for:displaying a list of contacts on a display of the wireless terminal;determining a first contact from the list of contacts in response to aselection by a user; determining a second contact from the list ofcontacts in response to another selection by the user; obtaining a weblog address and an online shop address of the first contact; obtaininganother web log address and another online shop address of the secondcontact; obtaining, from a network service, a first contentcorresponding to the web log address and the online shop address of thefirst contact; obtaining, from the network service, a second contentcorresponding to the other web log address and the other online shopaddress of the second contact; displaying the first content on a firstarea of the display, the first content being dynamically updated; anddisplaying the second content on a second area of the display, thesecond content being dynamically updated, wherein the first area of thedisplay is different from the second area of the display.
 2. Thewireless terminal of claim 1, wherein the first area of the display isdesignated for the first contact, and the second area of the display isdesignated for the second contact.
 3. The wireless terminal of claim 2,wherein the first content and the second content are dynamically updatedby the wireless terminal.
 4. The wireless terminal of claim 1, wherein asize and arrangement of the first area of the display is determinedaccording to actual needs of the user.